Fallin' Even More In Love With You
by gdotcom
Summary: When Jason transfers from Jupiter Academy to Goode High his senior year, he can't help but find himself fixated on one specific boy. Throughout the year, Jason needs to figure out his own feelings as he pursues a relationship with Nico while helping Nico come to terms with his own, all while trying to keep the new friend group he's made at Goode in tact. High School AU; Jason/Nico
1. Chapter 1

_Fallin' Even More In Love With You_

**gdotcom**

**A/N**: So... yeah. I couldn't help myself. I really have a lot of muse for this story and I've got so much planned out and I need Jasico to happen more than air itself, so I really hope you enjoy this. I know I've got a couple more stories on hiatus and stuff right now but please... have faith in me for this one. I've got so much in store for it and I don't plan on stopping soon. Hope you guys like it! Next chapter will be up soon!

Chapter 1

Reyna was not going to be happy with him. Frank and Hazel were not going to be happy with him. His father was definitely not going to be happy with him. Not that they didn't already know about what he'd done, but it was going to be a while before they were totally cool with his decision.

For the first time in six years, Jason walked through the halls of school in regular street clothes, articles he'd pulled straight from his closet and thrown on after his shower. Admittedly, not having a uniform laid out for him every morning was a little bit strange, and not having to worry about what he (or anyone else, for that matter) was wearing was pretty nice. But overall the t-shirt he'd picked out with the pair of khaki shorts was much more comfortable than the white dress shirt, black slacks, and purple tie he had to wear every day since freshman year.

As he made his way through the main hallway of Goode High School, he kept his eye out for his two best friends, Piper and Leo. At least he knew the two of them were going to be happy with his decision to transfer here. He knew that the three of them would get in contact at some point during the day, probably during lunch, but he was hoping he'd catch them before that. Jason was positive that they weren't going to have any classes together since none of them were in the same grade, so outside of lunch he wasn't sure how much he was actually going to see them. Still, the idea of going to school with the two of them was really appealing.

Unfortunately, Jason didn't catch any sight of either of them, and after a bit of wandering aimlessly around the school, he gave up his search. He'd definitely see them later, and so he resolved to pulling up the digital schedule he had on his phone to make sure he was going to be heading to the right classroom. The blonde was still a bit unsure of how he was supposed to feel about this transition, because it was already clear that this place was much different from his previous school of three years. While Jupiter Academy exuded a sense of formality and strictness, Goode High gave off a more fun and free vibe. He liked it.

_Great._ Jason said to himself, his schedule finally loading onto his screen on the school's not-so-amazing WiFi. _Period 1 – Geography._ One of Jason's least favorite subjects was his first class every morning. It was an elective he'd tried to avoid as best he could but ultimately got stuck in, and with a sigh he started to make his way up to the third floor, where the classroom was. He was still pretty early but he wanted to get his bearings of the school before everyone showed up and crowded the halls, so he didn't mind too much. It did, however, leave him to sit on the floor against the wall next to the door of his classroom while he waited.

The blonde had resorted to playing crappy iPhone games while he waited, but it wasn't long before a loud voice had snapped him out of his trance. He looked up at the boy who had rudely interrupted his game of _Tiny Wings_.

"I thought I knew everyone in the senior class…" The boy said with a pout, examining Jason. "Which means you must be new. Kinda sucks to be coming in senior year, but…" he shrugged his shoulders, sticking his hand out both as a gesture of introduction and as a means to get Jason up off his ass.

"I'm Percy." He greeted with a smile as Jason took his hand and got up, shaking it afterwards. "And you are…?"

"Uh, Jason Grace." The blonde grumbled. He stood about an inch taller than Percy and looked down at him. Percy's eyes grew wider as Jason said his name.

"Oh, _you're_ Jason? Dude, I've heard so much about you!" Percy laughed excitedly now, though Jason was clearly confused.

"Piper and Leo have told me all about you. They said you decided to transfer here this year!" Percy laughed again and Jason smiled lightly. He should have figured.

"Yeah, they're pretty excited about it, I guess. I mean I am too. It's a big change, but I'm hoping I made the right decision." He nodded. "I didn't feel right at Jupiter Academy anymore. Piper and Leo were insistent that I transfer here, instead. So here I am." He laughed, looking around the hall and noticing that more people were starting to fill the wide space. "I've heard a bit about you, too. You're good friends with the two of them, from what I've gathered."

"Definitely. But no one is on par with you, dude. They talk about you like you're the messiah or something." He clapped a hand on Jason's shoulder and walked into the classroom with him as their teacher unlocked and opened the door. He gestured for Jason to sit with him in the back of the room.

"But the two of them have been a part of our friend group since they were both freshmen. My girlfriend, Annabeth, met Piper and brought her in with us and then when Leo came in the next year, Piper brought him. They're both great." He smiled. "I can't wait to introduce you to everyone! If you're anything like Piper and Leo say you are, everyone is going to love you."

Percy started going off and Jason got the idea that this boy loved to talk. He let him continue on, nodding slightly every once in a while to let Percy know that he was still listening, even if it was only half-assed. He caught bits of what Percy was saying – who their friends were, who to avoid, who were the best looking girls in the grade – but Jason mostly just let his mind wander. His eyes danced around the room, noticing the tiniest details like how there were chips in the wood or nicks in the paint of the walls or desks or cabinets. Or how there were posters in the back of the room with inspirational, yet totally corny, quotes on them. Stuff that Jupiter Academy students would find completely foreign. Even Jason wasn't quite familiar with the concept of having imperfections in the classroom, but he was sure he'd get used to it.

"So do you like Geography, or did you somehow just get thrown into it like I did?" He heard Percy ask.

Spare the first half hour of first period where Percy refused to shut his mouth, the first couple periods of the day were uneventful. Mostly it was exactly what Jason expected; introductions to the teacher were made, attendance was called and everyone got familiar with each other. Syllabuses were handed out or explained and Jason watched as groups of friends compared schedules and reveled in what classes and free periods they had together. That was when Jason really wished Leo and Piper were the same age as him, but before he knew it the first three periods of the da were over and he was already headed off to lunch.

Piper had texted him telling him to meet them in the cafeteria and her and Leo would show Jason where they sat, so that's exactly where Jason went. It didn't take him long to find, since the cafeteria was a large room smack in the middle of the building and he'd passed it a couple times that morning. Before he had time to even look for his two friends he was greeted with a huge hug from Piper. They'd most likely been watching the entrance.

"Jason!" She yelled. "I can't believe you're here! At school with us! This is amazing!" She sounded exuberant. She let go of him and he let his arms fall back to his side before turning to Leo, the shortest (and youngest) of the three.

"C'mon, big guy, you know you wanna hug Jason too." He joked, and Leo gave him quick squeeze before pulling around.

"Dude, you know I'm not really one for hugs." He blushed slightly, but it was evident he was happy his best friends was here.

"It was a brohug! It's completely different!" Jason shouted, throwing his arms in the air. "It's, like, the exact same thing as a fistbump, only for better friends." Piper giggled behind the two of them.

"Come on," She said before the two of them could continue, grabbing Jason's arm and dragging him out of the cafeteria. "Let's introduce you to everyone!"

She pulled him out a pair of double doors into the outdoors while Leo follower close behind. They walked through a walkway type area before entering a small courtyard with two round tables. At one table sat four or five people Jason didn't recognize (that wasn't saying much), and at the other table sat Percy surrounded by some more people Jason didn't recognize. Piper let go of Jason and hurried over to the table with Percy.

"Guys!" She shouted "This is –"

"The amazing! The incredible! The one and only Jason Grace!" Leo interrupted, sticking his arms out towards the blonde and waving his hands as if he presenting some sort of prize. Jason simply waved his hand and made his way over to the table.

"That's me." He said almost shyly while Piper pouted that she'd been interrupted.

"You know, Leo, I had it just fine." She crossed her arms.

"No you didn't. You wouldn't have done it right." He argued. Jason ignored them and sat down next to Percy, who started giving names to faces.

"This is Annabeth, my girlfriend." He wrapped an arm around the blonde girl next to him while simultaneously shoving a blue cookie into his mouth. "She's wicked smart and probably going to be valedictorian at the end of the year." She blushed, but looked like she knew it was true. He kissed her cheek and left cookie crumbs across the surface of her skin, and then pointed to the girl next to her.

"That's Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Don't even think about calling her anything but her full name." Jason decided not to argue about that.

"And those two over there, high as fuck and practically making out with each other? That's Grover and Juniper. Crazy environmentalists, super vegan, you get the idea." He snorted. "If you need weed, they're the two to go to."

"Then there's Piper and Leo, who you obviously know." He and Jason both glanced at the two, who were still bickering about how to give Jason a proper entrance. "And me, of course." He said enthusiastically. He looked across the tabled and gestured towards a small, dark haired boy who didn't seem all too thrilled about being there.

"And over there, that's Nico. He quiet and not amazing around strangers, but he's a good kid." Percy nodded, almost solemnly. "He'll warm up to you, I'm sure."

Jason looked over at him and smiled. Nico looked back, but gave nothing in return.


	2. Chapter 2

_Fallin' Even More In Love With You_

**gdotcom**

**A/N: **Kind of a slow chapter, but also kind of necessary for development. I promise it's getting better after this, so pleeeeease stay tuned!

Chapter 2

The rest of the first day of school had been easy enough. Jason had gone through his classes with ease, having three after lunch. He had another class with Percy at the end of the day, along with Annabeth, and he shared his period after lunch with Grover. Admittedly he didn't really know the guy, not that he knew the rest of them well either, but it was nice to see a familiar face nonetheless and he figured they'd become friendly soon enough.

All of the people Jason had been introduced to seemed really cool, though, and he honestly liked that Percy's group of friends wasn't grade exclusive. It made for a nice dynamic, even though it wasn't a foreign concept to him. After all, two of his closest friends at Jupiter Academy weren't in his grade.

Annabeth and Piper looked like they had a pretty strong relationship, which Jason was happy about because he figured Piper needed at least one girl in her life. He didn't speak much to Grover and Juniper, but they seemed like good people, and Rachel Elizabeth Dare seemed like a lot of fun. The only one that really stood out was that Nico boy.

Throughout the entirety of his lunch period, Jason spent most of his time looking at the pale brunette. He looked away every time Nico had caught him, but Jason couldn't seem to keep his eyes away. There was something so intriguing about him, but Jason couldn't seem to put a finger on it. He looked like a sad boy, but he was still somehow incredibly good looking. He had an almost timeless beauty, like he'd been transported here from the past. He looked like he'd be fragile and delicate, but Jason couldn't figure out if that was just because of his size or because of the face he was making during the entire lunch period.

Unfortunately, the lunch period wasn't actually all that long and Jason's session of "let's figure out the depressed looking kid" was cut short. Of course he talked and joked with the rest of the group and found himself getting along with them easily, but he almost felt bad. Nico didn't say a single word the entire time, and practically bolted back inside as soon as lunch was over. He wasn't sure why he sat with them if he seemed so miserable, and Jason wondered if this was a regular occurrence.

He decided not to ask, as he'd see for himself pretty quickly, and didn't dwell on it. Shaking it off, he'd continued the rest of his day easily and found himself driving home with Piper and Leo not too long after that.

"So… how did you like your first day?" Piper asked enthusiastically from the passenger's seat, turning to face him. Jason kept his eyes on the road and he smiled.

"I liked it a lot. The school is really nice. And your friends are awesome." He chuckled. "I think I'm gonna like it here." Piper squealed.

"I knew you'd like them!" Leo leaned forward from the back and clapped a hand on Jason's shoulder. "And I think they all really like you, too." He nodded. Piper agreed.

"I have fifth period with Juniper and she said you seem nice. I mean, she was still high, but it seemed like a genuine comment." She giggled. "Rachel said so, too."

"Even Nico said you seem alright," Leo added. "which is pretty amazing considering he's shy even around his friends." Jason raised an eyebrow at that but decided not to comment.

"That reminds me," he glanced at the two of them before returning his gaze back to the road. "Tell me, what grade is everyone in?"

"Well you know I'm a junior and Leo's a sophomore." Piper said, leaning back in her seat. "Percy and Annabeth are both seniors, I'm sure you guessed." Jason nodded.

"Grover is a senior with you guys, and his girlfriend Juniper is a junior. She barely missed the cut. Rachel Elizabeth Dare is a senior."

"So why were you in a class with her?" Jason asked.

"It was an elective." She waved him off. "And Nico is a sophomore. I think that's everybody, right?" She turned to Leo who shrugged.

"Awesome." Jason laughed before turning back to the windshield for a moment of silence.

"So… can anyone tell me why we're only allowed to call Rachel Elizabeth Dare by her full name?" His two friends shook their heads.

"Nope. That's what Percy told us, too, but we never got an explanation." Piper explained. "We chose not to question it, like you." The three of them laughed.

It didn't take them long to get back to Jason's apartment. He and his older sister Thalia lived alone. His father paid for all their expenses but he wasn't around much. He wasn't a neglectful father, but he also wasn't the most amazing dad, either. At this point, Jason kind of just dealt with it, as did his sister. Their mother was completely out of the picture.

"Make yourselves comfortable." He said, throwing open the door to the apartment and flopping down onto the couch. "You've both been here plenty of times before." He watched as Piper settled herself on the couch against Jason's legs while Leo sat himself on the floor, hands fidgeting and playing with the carpet as always.

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't tear up my entire carper, Leo." Jason chuckled.

"Sorry, sorry, I can't help myself." Leo retorted while making no actual attempt to stop. Jason looked up at the ceiling.

"What's the deal with Nico?" He asked after a couple minutes of silence.

"What, you mean di Angelo?" Piper asked, turning to him.

"Sure." Jason shrugged. He didn't know his last name.

"Seriously, Piper, how many Nicos do you think he's met in the past twenty-four hours?" Leo asked sarcastically and Piper crossed her arms at him.

"I don't know, Leo. It was just a question, you don't need to be so snarky."

"Oh, but honey, Snarky is my middle name!" Leo shouted, placing his hand on his heart and looking at her sympathetically. She pursed her lips.

"Leo Snarky Valdez, huh? Doesn't sound very Spanish to me."

"Hey! Not everything about me has to do with the fact that I'm Hispanic!"

"Guys!" Jason clapped, bringing their attention back to him. "Can we get back to the question at hand, please?" Piper shrugged at him and turned back forward.

"I don't know, what about him?"

"It's just… why does he look so sad?" Jason asked. "Leo, you're in his grade, do you know much about him?"

"Not really." Leo admitted. "I'll give you that, though. He does always look pretty miserable. I think it's because of a lot of reasons… mostly it's because of his sister's death, I think, but Percy knows him better than anyone. I'd ask him, but Nico doesn't even speak to him much anymore."

Jason was silent for a moment.

"His sister died?" Jason scrunched his nose and furrowed his brow. Just the thought of something so horrible made him uncomfortable. He couldn't imagine a life without Thalia.

"Yeah, Bianca di Angelo." Piper said. "She was your sister's age, I think… it happened a little more than a year ago. He used to be more upbeat, but since then he's kind of just kept to himself. We were all pretty worried for a while, but…" She didn't finish her sentence, but Jason got the message. It was just what Nico had become. Jason felt bad.

"Why do you ask about Nico? Why so interested in him?" Leo asked. Jason didn't answer. He thought it was pretty evident. Nico was the most peculiar of the group.

Piper and Leo didn't hang around for long. Something about a French lesson for Piper, and Leo being Leo didn't love being in the same place for too long, especially somewhere like Jason's stuffy apartment. They headed out and Jason was alone again, his sister off God knows where. He was hungry but not enough yet for dinner, which left him with just about nothing to do. He found himself on the computer looking up when the football tryouts for Goode were, but that didn't take up very much time.

He thought about calling Reyna, but their school days were longer and she was probably busy finishing up with end of the day things as well as responsibilities of her own. He felt bad about leaving her behind. She was one of his best friends along with Leo and Piper (although she wasn't really connected with the two) and this was supposed to be their year. The two of them were going to be the Student Body Presidents, but after Jason had made the decision to leave, it automatically put that creep Octavian, who had been Vice President, into the second slot. Jason felt_ really_ bad about leaving her with him, but he realized that he needed to think about himself first and foremost, and this was definitely the best decision for him.

Despite going to a private middle school and then Jupiter Academy for his first three years of high school, he never really felt right there. It didn't quite feel like him, and this only became more evident the more time he spent there. He did everything he could to challenge the strict rules the school tried to enforce, and whenever an opportunity that let him get away with something presented itself, he took it. Jason liked being free and at Jupiter Academy that was simply impossible.

Jason ended up on his bed in his enormous bedroom. The TV was on but he wasn't paying attention to it, instead staring up at the blank ceiling and thinking. About what, he didn't know, but it wasn't long before he got bored and looked over at his phone. He called Percy.

"Do you want to come over?" Jason asked him after being greeted on the other end. "Piper and Leo abandoned me, my sister is out of the house and I'm bored out of my mind. Annabeth can come too, if she wants."

"Nah, she's got this college architecture class she takes after school that won't be over for a couple more hours." He sounded proud. "But I, on the other hand, have no such class. You got an Xbox?"

"PS4." Jason replied apologetically.

"You suck. I'll be over in ten." They both laughed and Jason gave him his address before they hung up. Before Jason could even really think about it, Percy was knocking on Jason's door.

"Alright, first thing's first. Do you have food? Because I'm starving." Percy grumbled as Jason answered the door. Jason nodded.

"Help yourself to anything in the pantry." He gestured over to the cabinet in the kitchen, but Percy had already found his way over to it and found a gallon carton of Goldfish. He was in the middle of shoveling a handful of the crackers into his mouth when he turned around and gave Jason a look of both guilt and pleasure. Jason just chuckled and waved him over to his room.

"This is your _room_?" Percy asked, astonished. "You must be fucking loaded, I swear this is as big as my whole apartment.

"Yeah, I guess Dad keeps us pretty well off." He chuckled. "It'd be nice if he came around more, but we see him enough, I guess." He pointed to his PS4, grabbing a controller and tossing it to Percy. "You wanna play?"

"Hell yeah." He agreed, shoving more Goldfish into his mouth.

"Call of Duty good with you?" Jason asked, and Percy nodded.

They played for a while before Percy got frustrated and decided to call it quits.

"All I'm saying is that the PS4 controller has a stupid layout. It's not tactical." Percy crossed his arms and looked at Jason.

"You're just pissed because I kept winning." Jason grinned.

"Well it's not fair! You're used to the controllers and I'm not, so I was confused. If it had been my house with my Xbox, you'd be just as pissed."

"I would? Because I think I've got a pretty good handle on the Xbox… I play my sister's all the time…" He grinned again at the slightly shorter brunette, who threw his arms up in the air and walked towards the door.

"I quit!" He exclaimed. "Jason Grace, you are a Grade A cheater!" Jason chased after him.

"Aw, don't be like that Percy." He fake pouted. "Can I get you anything else to eat to make up for it? I can't believe you finished off that entire box." He gestured back towards his room while the two of them settled themselves down in a couple of the barstools that were arranged around the island counter in the kitchen. Thalia had come home at that point and was in the kitchen making herself dinner.

"Percy?" She looked at him quizzically. "What the hell are you doing here? I haven't seen you in ages!" She smiled at him and Percy raised his eyebrows before turning back to Jason.

"_Thalia's_ your sister? Geez, Jason, what else are you hiding from me?" He shouted, although it was obvious he wasn't actually mad.

"How do you two know each other?" Jason asked, almost as confused as Thalia was at the sight of Percy.

"She was one of the upperclassmen in my freshman introductory class. Kind of like a 'here's someone who knows how shit goes down; listen to them' type of thing. We stayed friends after the semester was over. She was also good friends with Annabeth, but I had no idea she was your _sister_."

"Granted, you didn't know I existed back then." Jason retorted.

"Touché."

It was nice having someone that Jason could get along with so easily so quickly. Percy was a lot like him in some ways but a lot different from him in a lot of other ways, but ultimately he knew that they would make good friends. Percy was a lot of fun and a really good guy from what he could tell. It had been no more than eight hours since Jason had met him and already the two of them were sitting in Jason's kitchen, laughing and joking while his older sister offered to make them food.

Jason suddenly remembered what Leo had said earlier about talking to Percy about Nico. He said that if he had any questions to go to Percy, and Jason wondered if this was the right time. Was there more personal information that he shouldn't try to snoop on so early into his friendship with Percy? He figured Percy and Nico must have known each other for quite a bit of time, but Jason really didn't want to be inappropriate. Still, the boy from earlier intrigued him.

He couldn't tell if it was the fact that he was the only one Jason hadn't spoken a word to, or if it was the way he carried himself, or the way he seemed to be clinging onto this little group of friends and at the same time desperately trying to not be a part of it. Something about the small sophomore piqued Jason's interest and eventually he couldn't help but as about him.

"Percy? What's up with that boy, Nico?"


End file.
